Memory Zero (Spook Squad 1)

“It’s a safe place to rest for the night.”

Yeah, right. Any of the dozen hotels they’d passed along the way would have been just as safe. He was going to Karl’s for a specific reason.

They cruised onto the Tullamarine Freeway and headed out past the airport. The taxi didn’t stop until they’d reached the expensive farmland region beyond the satellite city of Sunbury.

She climbed out and looked at the sky. Away from the glow of the city lights, the stars shone bright and crisp. She turned until she found the Southern Cross, and then smiled. When she was very young, someone had told her the cross was a symbol of her freedom, something that could never be taken away. But like everything else in her past, the memory of who had told her that was gone. Only the cross remained—a symbol that was oddly comforting, even now.

The taxi reversed back down the dirt driveway. Gabriel walked over to where she stood.

“Your friend must have a bit of money to own

farmland this close to Melbourne,” she said.

The house itself didn’t scream money, as Stephan’s had. Granted, it was large, but the worn bricks and ramshackle appearance gave it an air that was more homely than expensive. What made it expensive was the location—smack in the middle of a top farming region.

“He’s one of this country’s top herbalists and grows all his own materials.” He pressed a hand to her back, his fingers warm against her spine as he guided her forward.

The door opened as they approached, though no one appeared to have actually opened it. She raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. He smiled and pointed to the small camera perched in the entrance’s corner.

“Security-com,” he said. “I’ve spent a bit of time here.”

More than a bit of time, if security gave him no-questions access at this time of night. He ushered her into a large living room warmed by one of the biggest log fires she’d ever seen. It was fake—had to be. The only trees that could be cut down nowadays were plantation stock, and it was considered something close to criminal to use such wood for fires. Besides, from this angle she could see one of the jets near the end of the log. Still, it created an illusion that was both inviting and comforting, and the warmth of the gas heating filled the room without being uncomfortable.

Karl came through a doorway at the far end of the room, a tea towel in one hand and a dripping bowl in the other. “Have a seat while I finish these. I won’t be long.”

Her interest was piqued by the long rows of books on the shelves behind the two sofas, and she walked over to take a look. She collected paperbacks, and that in itself was expensive enough. Karl’s books were hardcovers and literally worth a king’s ransom. Subject matter ranged from herbs to genetics and painting to history. Anything and everything. Fiction books were relegated to bottom rows, and judging from the amount of dust, hadn’t been touched for a while.

Karl came back into the room. “Drink?”

She moved around one of the sofas and sat down. “I’d love a scotch and soda.” She had a feeling she was going to need something strong, that she wasn’t going to like the information Gabriel had come here to get.

Karl nodded. His wild brown hair, unfettered by a bandanna, swayed in all directions. “Gabriel?”

“Just a beer will be fine. Where’s the family?”

“Visiting Jan’s folks. Her old man’s not well.”

She frowned and watched Karl pull a beer out of the bar’s fridge. That last statement was a lie. It was obvious in the way his gaze had dropped, in the tension that had briefly curled his fingers. But if he and Gabriel were such good friends, why would he lie over an inane matter like that? Was it because of her presence? Or something else?

“So, tell me what’s wrong,” Karl continued softly.

Gabriel looked at her. His eyes were still shuttered. This time the anger she sensed in him was not aimed at her. “Someone blew up Stephan’s house.”

Karl was still for the briefest of moments. That alone gave away his shock. Like Gabriel’s, his face was impassive. “Anyone hurt?”

“Fortunately, no.”

“Lucky.” Karl handed them both a drink and sat on the chair between the two sofas. “What did State have to say?”

Gabriel’s brief smile was grim. “That we were lucky.”

“Anyone with you, besides Stephan?”

It was a question that seemed to be loaded. Something was going on, something she didn’t understand, but Karl obviously did.

Gabriel hesitated. Anger and disbelief warred briefly in his eyes. “Martyn, Mary and Lyssa.”

“Ah.”